While a graduate student at Magdalen and then a fellow at Oxford’s Jesus College, Ferguson supplemented his study of history—and his meager scholar’s income—with freelance journalism.

Ferguson says that English academia was not receptive to journalistic ventures and he felt compelled to incarnate his journalistic self under the pseudonyms of Alec Campbell and then Campbell Ferguson.

“I can remember coming out—I was outed as Niall Ferguson, not Alec Campbell, which was my alter-ego, at which point I thought, ‘My academic career is over. This is the end,’ because there was still that strong sense that one ought not to do it,” he says.

Ferguson argues, however, that communicating in newsprint is as legitimate an academic venture as is writing articles for peer-reviewed journals.

“I’ve never ever felt there was any incompatibility between writing op-eds and writing scholarly papers or writing books with footnotes...they’re just different modes of operation,” Ferguson says. “I do think there...always has been an element of intellectual snobbery about those people who say, ‘Tut-tut, A.J.P. Taylor used to write for The [Sunday] Express, can’t make him Regis professor.’”

But Ferguson—whose journalism now is presumably limited to his numerous op-ed submissions—insists that writing about the past for academia and for the public are equally valid pursuits for a history professor.

“History is a public discipline,” Ferguson says. “It’s not like math or nuclear physics—it’s intelligible.”

Maier agreed that Ferguson has managed to bridge the traditional divide between popular writing and challenging historical analysis.

“Niall is a very good historian,” Maier says. “I wish I had his gifts for popular communication.”

“He certainly doesn’t purchase that at the expense of scholarly history,” Maier adds.

In addition to educating the next generation, Ferguson says that a professor’s responsibilities include educating today’s leaders about historical precedents for their dilemmas.

“If we don’t argue about Iraq then other people will do it less well or with less knowledge,” he says.

REJECTING THE BULLY PULPIT

When it comes to educating students, as opposed to the general public, Ferguson’s efforts have also been widely recognized.

After his first semester at NYU, he was awarded professor of the year by the Stern School’s Class of 2003.